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Castlevania (Lords of Shadow)
The Bernhard Castle (known as Vampire Castle in the Lords of Shadow, and Dracula's Castle in Mirror of Fate) was the home of Vampire Dark Lord Carmilla and her vampiric horde. It was previously owned by Friedrich von Frankenstein, Walter Bernhard and the Bernhard family. When Carmilla took over, she drove the most of the Bernhard family out, but kept Frankenstein in order to torture him, and to continue making creations for her. After Carmilla's death and the defeat of the Forgotten One, Gabriel Belmont, known as "Dracul" or "Dracula", took residence in the castle. Background It is said that castle was haunted long before the vampires came to dwell among its walls. The Bernhard clan made a pact with a hellspawn, which resulted in the building itself becoming possessed by the demon. It may just be a myth to harm the reputation of the family, but the fact that the castle could be a living entity may explain how, after centuries, no one had been able to create a complete map of there castle, even after expending considerable resources on the task. The castle's Maze Gardens were once the most beautiful in all of Europe. Many pilgrims would visit the Castle grounds from lands far away to witness their timeless beauty. Although the castle's original owners are unknown, it was ruled by the Bernhard family, who were evidenced to be a group of evil sorcerers through their actions. Perhaps at the same time or later, Friedrich von Frankenstein also owned the castle. At an unknown point in time, the Bernhard family had summoned the Forgotten One, a powerful demon. However, the Forgotten One was too powerful to control, and broke free. The events of this took place at an unknown time, although it could have occurred as a result of the Bernhard family attempting to fend off the Brotherhood of Light. The Brotherhood eventually managed to combine their powers to seal the Forgotten One into another dimension, and built a new area around the castle in order to house him in the event that he managed to escape. At a point in the past, the Brotherhood of Light's founders were tricked into ascending to heaven, also splitting their light sides, which ascended to heaven, from their dark sides, which remained on Earth. The Lords of Shadow, as they were called, went their separate ways, although Carmilla remained in order to watch over in the event that the Forgotten One was to escape, fearing what would happen if he did. After Gabriel returned after being summoned by Laura to confront the Forgotten One, whose bonds had now been broken, the two explored the underground layers of the castle, finally reaching the Founders' Quarters. After drinking all Laura's blood in order to progress, as only dark beings could enter, Gabriel continues into the underworld to confront the Forgotten One. Gabriel defeated the Forgotten One, and returned to the castle, taking residence in it as Dark Lord. Here, most of the creatures bowed down to him. The structure of the castle changed dramatically, likely due to its demonic origins, and hunchbacks began to take residence here. Gabriel, now "Dracula", used this castle as his "base" for his planned conquest of humanity. After Alucard and Simon defeated Dracula, the castle collapsed. Interior Structure Like the original Dracula's Castle, the castle was said to be able to change form after a pact with a demon which actually possessed the castle. Although this may be untrue, the castle remains very vast and not all of its depths are known. Below is a list of known castle areas, in order of progression. *Castle Sewers *Maze Gardens *Castle Hall *Refectory *Balcony *Electric Laboratory *Chromatic Observatory *Outer Wall *The Clockwork Tower *The Throne Room As well, more areas of the castle lay below the upper areas of the castle, sealed away, acting as a secondary prison for the Forgotten One if he were to escape. They also seemed to have served as the quarters of the Brotherhood of Light's founders. *Abandoned Wing *Founders' Quarters Gallery CastleVista.jpg CastleShot13.png VampireScreenshot.png CastleShot1.png CastleShot2.png CastleShot3.png CastleShot4.png CastleShot5.png CastleShot6.png CastleShot7.png CastleShot8.png CastleShot9.png CastleShot10.png CastleShot11.png CastleShot12.png Notes *It is suggested that Carmilla lived in the castle when she was human. She despised Dr. Frankenstein, and wanted to bring him to justice. This suggests that she may have been a member of the Bernhard family or had a connection to them somehow. The Skeleton Warriors were once her closest retainers at the castle when she was human. In death they became her guards. *Their are some similarities with some of the architecture in the Bernhard Castle in Lords of Shadow and Walter's castle in Lament of Innocence. Primarily the hallways in the castle are lined with giant black armor and statues. These resemble the black armor statues on the top floor of Walter's Castle leading up to his throne room. These dark armor statues also appear in the top floor of the castle in Aria of Sorrow (in some cases blocking passages with their swords). *It's unclear of who exactly had control over the castle before Carmilla took over, since various notes say the Bernhards and Frankenstein ruled the castle, but never mentioned who had governing rule. It's suggested that both familes could have shared the castle for various reasons, or could have been cousins. The legend that the Bernhards made a pact with demon suggest they were the first ruler's of the castle though, meaning Frankenstein could have had control over just a small section of the castle. Another idea is that he took control after the Bernhards left, and lost control shortly before Carmilla claimed the castle as her own. *The legend that the castle is a demon, in which the layout is near impossible to map out, is similiar to what Alucard mention's about Dracula's Castle in Symphony of the Night. *An interesting note about the castle, is that it shares similiar levels to Dracula's Castle. Because of this, it could be argued that Vampire Castle is a nod to Castlevania itself, since most games of the series take place in nothing but a castle, with a Belmont as the protagonist, and a Vampire as a the main boss/ruler of the castle. Category:Lords of Shadow